Laying Down the Law

Anna Hineline ’11 is learning the ins and outs of a state political system, straight from Massachusetts State Representative Jeffrey Perry (R-Sandwich), with whom she’s interning this summer. “Representative Perry has been the state representative in my district for the past six years,” Hineline says. “We also share a political ideology which originally drew me to him.” After submitting a resume and interviewing for the job, she found herself with an internship that exposes her “to all three components of being a part of the Massachusetts legislature: legislating, constituent services and fundraising and campaigning.” The international relations and economics major divides her work week between the district office in Sandwich and the State House in Boston. Hineline not only assists in daily office tasks, but is keeping busy drafting press releases, writing letters to the editor with Perry, and attending seminars with legislators and lobbyists. Hineline also had the chance to research projects on state and federal bills. “For example, one project I have done is creating a federal registry including a fee to keep track of saltwater fishermen,” she says. “After doing the research, I drafted a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and drafted a press release stating the representative’s opposition to the legislation.” Along with two other interns, Hineline has been busy assisting Perry in his re-election campaign. “We do telephone polling as well as door-to-door campaigning to help re-familiarize the district with the representative and his policies,” she explains. Recently, she had the opportunity to meet with a former presidential candidate. “I was fortunate enough to attend a fundraising event where the guest of honor was the former Gov. Mitt Romney, which was an amazing experience.” On campus, Hineline is co-chair of What Do You Stand For, a Classes of 2011 community service group. She is also the co-founder of the HWS Model United Nations Club. In the future, she hopes for a career in national politics and believes that this internship is a stepping stone. “It is extremely important to have a good understanding of local and state politics before one can understand national politics,” she explains. “Right now, I am learning the basics of how the American political system works.”